lect of the Quraysh; others are in the dialects of the Hudhayl, Hawazan, al-Yaman, Kinana, TamTm. and ThaqTf. This view has been attributed to a group of scholars, among whom are al-Bayhaqi, al-Abhari, and the author of al-Qamils [al-Fayruzabadl].
The response [to this is as follows].

١. The abovementioned traditions have determined the purport of the expression "seven J:tarfs." Accordingly, it is not possible to ascribe to it such meanings that do not conform to its original sense.
٢. To ascribe the meaning "dialects" to the /:tarfs contradicts what has been related on the authority of Umar, who said, "The Quran was revealed in the Muc.Iar dia‌ lect."٢٧ According to this tradition, Umar disapproved of Ibn MasUds reading [in which he said], atta /:tin, instead of J:tatta /:tin (till a time), and wrote him that "the Quran was not revealed in the dialect of the Hudhayl; hence, teach it to people in the dialect of the Quraysh and not that of the Hudhayl."٢٨
Furthermore, it has been related that Uthman said to the three tribes of the three
clans of the Quraysh, "If you and Zayd b. Thabit dispute over something in the Quran, then write it in the dialect of the Quraysh, because it was revealed in their dialect."٢٩
Another tradition reports that "a dispute arose between Umar and Hisham b. I:Iakim concerning a reading in "SUrat al-Furqan" (sura ٢٥). Hisham recited it in one way, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said, This is the way it was revealed. Then Umar recited it in another way, and the Prophet [again] said, This is the way it was revealed. Then the Messenger of God added, This Quran has been revealed in seven J:tarfs."٣٠
Both Umar and Hisham belonged to the Quraysh; therefore, there was no cause for them to disagree at that time over the reading of the Quran. In addition to all this, to ascribe the meaning of "dialects" to the J:tarfs has no scientific basis and is merely a judgment without proof.
٣. If those who maintain this opinion mean to say that the Quran includes idioms from other dialects that the Quraysh dialect did not have, then this explanation runs against those traditions that say the purpose of revealing the Quran in seven J:tarfs was to make it easier for the Muslim community [to recite]. In fact, it runs against the truth-namely,
the fact that the dialect of the Quraysh predominated over all other Arabic dialects. It [the Quran] assimilated the most eloquent words of each dialect, and for that reason it deserved the status of being the standard for measuring the Arabic language and for applying the rules of its grammar. However, if they mean to say that the Quran in‌ cludes other dialects, but that they are interwoven with the dialect of the Quraysh, then there would be no reason for limiting them to seven dialects, because the Quran con‌ tains nearly fifty dialects. [Indeed], according to a tradition reported on the authority of AbU Bakr al-Wasiti: "In the Quran there are fifty dialects. Those include the dia‌ lects of the Quraysh, Hudhayl, Kinana, Khazraj, Ashar, Namlr. ..."٣١

The Mutj.ar Dialect

According to [the fifth] interpretation,٣٢ the seven J:tarfs refer to the seven dialects of the Muc.Iar tribes, in particular. These dialects are interwoven in the Quran, and they are the dialects of the Quraysh, Asad, Kinana, Hudhayl, Tamim, Oubba, and